Friday Facts and Figures: November 16, 2018

Friday Facts and Figures is a brief digital newsletter focusing on data points from NJPP reports, research, and policy debates in New Jersey and beyond.Sign up here.

87.5 Percent

Nearly two years into the Trump administration, immigration arrests and detainer holds are on the rise in New Jersey. From 2016 to 2017, ICE’s issuance of detainers has increased by 87.5 percent in the Garden State, compared to 40 percent nationwide. New Jersey has voluntarily honored at least 63 percent of these requests, which come at a hefty cost for local law enforcement. [NJPP / Erika Nava]

11

Local law enforcements’ cooperation with ICE is guided by an 11-year-old New Jersey Attorney General directive that immigration advocates characterize as a “green light for police and jail officials to fulfill detainers.” New Jersey Attorney General Gurbir Grewal agrees that the policy does not reflect the state’s current immigration realities and will be issuing a new directive in the next two or three weeks. [WNYC / Matt Katz]

4th Lowest

Premiums in New Jersey’s marketplace will rank as fourth lowest in the nation in 2019 as a result of state health policies enacted over the last year. New Jersey emerged as a national leader in combating the Trump administration’s sabotage of the Affordable Care Act by implementing a statewide individual mandate, establishing a reinsurance fund, and encouraging carriers to offer low-cost Silver plans. [NJ Spotlight / Lilo Stainton]

$1,600

The average New Jerseyan purchasing health insurance in the marketplace will save $1,600 in premiums in 2019. In total, 140,000 middle-class residents will save $3.3 billion on premiums over the next ten years. Premiums in New Jersey are now 26 percent lower than the national average and will be far less than those in neighboring states. [NJPP / Raymond Castro]

$14.8 Billion

California is estimated to have a $14.8 billion surplus in the 2019-2020 fiscal year, along with a $14.5 billion rainy day fund to cushion against a recession. In 2012, California voters approved increases in the personal income tax for the state’s top earners (maxing out at a 12.3 percent marginal tax rate on earnings over $500,000) to invest in public schools and state colleges and universities. [San Francisco Chronicle / Melanie Gutierrez]

ICYMI

NJPP’s Erika Nava makes a strong case for expanding access to driver’s licenses in an op-ed in NJ BIZ. Driving a car is essential to fully participating in New Jersey’s economy, yet there are 466,000 undocumented immigrants of driving age who cannot legally get behind the wheel. Allowing these potential drivers to be trained, tested, and licensed will make New Jersey’s roads safer and the economy stronger. [NJ BIZ / Erika Nava]